Lost in Past
by Mackenzie Akel
Summary: Dante Vale is called to report to Huntik HQ as soon as they come back from Spain. Zhalia, now his wife, is unable to spend time with him. He, however, never comes back. What happened to him?
1. The Discovery

**LOST IN PAST**

THE DISCOVERY

**Dante**

**6:00 pm**

**Dante Vale's House**

**Venice, Italy.**

"Forty seven new mails! This is ridiculous!" Lok spoke up as we entered my house. It was difficult to open the door as the mails jammed it. We finally returned from our 'not so exciting' mission in Spain. It was completely worthless. The rumors said that there was an extremely powerful titan to be found at Barcelona. All we got to see was the famous football club out there (Yes, yes, it was Lok's wish since we were there). There was no titan there. I had never minded traveling to investigate stuffs. In fact, there had been many moments when there were rumors about titans but there weren't any. This time, however, I was completely disappointed. Not only did the foundation give me wrong information, they sent me on this mission just after my wedding with Zhalia. She was completely pissed off, and even fought with Metz about this. She, however, didn't succeed and the result; Lok, Sophie, Zhalia and I were back to the same routine: Go Place, Fight the Aces.

Zhalia was giving a good silent treatment to all of us. She didn't talk to me ever since all the truth came to light. I even tried to apologize to her, knowing very well that all this wasn't my fault. I just had to make her speak to us; to me at least. She was smart. She slept during our entire journey back to Venice, and it was a good way of avoiding me. I was just dying to talk to her.

"What are those mails, Dante??" Sophie asked me, as Lok, along with Cherit, went to the kitchen to get something to eat.

"Ah….there's a newspaper bill, advertising papers, magazines…….gift vouchers…."

"Can I have the gift voucher?" Sophie asked me.

"If you expect to buy shoes at the dairy shop, then I don't think so." Lok giggled at this, while Sophie gave him a hard stare.

Zhalia entered with her bag pack, still avoiding me. She didn't say anything and went upstairs. She was still mad at me.

"Lok, Sophie, why don't you go out somewhere?" I said to them.

"Why are you throwing us out from your place?" Sophie said.

Lok chuckled, and said, "Sophie, you are such a kid! Don't you understand? Dante wants some quality time with his lovely fiancée!"

Sophie mouthed "Oh" before joining Lok's laughter session.

"Alright! So you're mature enough to understand! Now, would you please mind…?"

"Sure, Dante! But I was wondering…….." Lok started.

"What? Say it!"

"…I was wondering that since we're going out you could lend us……."

I reached for my wallet and took out some cash and handed them to Lok. He hardly does any work of my interest without taking bribe.

"Gee, thanks!" Both of them said and hopped out of house. I had to admit the fact that they looked really adorable as they walked out, holding hands.

Time to check Zhalia……..

When I reached our room, she was taking bath. I could make out her silhouette from the translucent glassed bathroom. She looked mesmerizing and I wondered what she would look like if I could just have a look at her while she's in the shower. Naughty thoughts gathered in my mind as she came out of the bathroom. She stood still in front of me, wrapped in a towel. My heart skipped a beat as I'd never seen her like this before. She looked like an angel.

"Ah….will you excuse me for a minute??" she said, giving me a cold look. I knew she was still mad at me.

"Ok…" I didn't know what else to say. I walked towards the room, knowing that it was going to be hard for me to deal with her anger.

I went to another room and quickly washed myself. I still had lots of work to do, like preparing the dinner. I went downstairs and found Zhalia lying on the couch, with a newspaper and a pen in her hand. As I approached her, I saw she was wearing a black miniskirt and turquoise translucent cotton top, which showed her inside girly stuff. I'd never seen her in a skirt and was glad that she'd decided to wear that. She still didn't notice me as I continued to stare down at her. My breathing became heavier.

I moved towards her until I sat on the couch near her feet. Slowly, I began to trace my fingertips on her leg. She kept the paper down at once. For a moment, I thought that she would start protesting. But, she kept herself still. I continued tracing till I reached her thigh. She flinched a little and said in a shaky tone, "Dante, what are you doing?"

"Something I should have done much earlier." Saying this, I placed myself on top of her, my fingers making there way under her skirt. She tried to push me away gently, but I held her firmly. I started pecking her lips. That pecking soon turned into a kiss. She ultimately gave up and pulled me closer to her, kissing me harshly and passionately. I remover my hand from under her skirt and started unbuttoning her blouse. She moaned softly as I stoked her cleavage. She placed her hands on my chest and I soon realized that I wasn't wearing a shirt. Her back arched as I pulled her closer, closing all the gaps between us. My hands moved back to the previous position and I gently caressed the inside of her thigh. She started unbuttoning my trouser as I almost removed her blouse. I broke the kiss and we both were breathing hard. Soon my tongue started tracing the curves of her neck. She moaned, this time a bit loudly.

"You need to get a room, Dante!" a deep voice said.

I pulled myself away from her and found Guggenheim on the screen, staring at us with a smirk on his lips. Zhalia blushed due to embarrassment and ran upstairs, holding her unbuttoned blouse firmly. God, we were almost there!

"You're such a peeping Tom, Guggenheim! Since when have you been seeing all this?" I asked him, angrily.

"Hey, I'm sorry! I came online just now and didn't expect to see……you know what. I never knew you'll be doing it right there!" he said, pointing towards the couch.

"So, why are you here now?" I asked him.

"Just want to tell you that Metz is expecting you at the Headquarters now. He wants to discuss something important."

"Right now?"

"He gave you half an hour to report to him."

"This is…"

"I can understand, Dante. But, I can't do anything!"

"Alright, I'm coming."

I got up from the couch and found Zhalia on the bottom of the staircase.

"Zhalia…...I…."

"I know everything." She said, in an emotionless voice.

"We'll continue after I come back. I promise!"

"We'll see that later." Saying this, she went upstairs again and slammed the door of the bedroom shut.

I quickly dressed up and went towards the Headquarter.

**7:15 pm**

**Huntik Foundation Headquarter**

**Venice, Italy.**

What was so important that he called me in half an hour and threatened to suspend me if I don't? I still couldn't take my mind off from Zhalia. She was in a bad mood, which I had almost altered completely, until it restored itself back, thanks to Guggenheim. She said 'we'll see that later' before I left her. Was she going back to her silent mode? She knew my weakness and the fact that not talking to me will act as a slow poison for me. I'd never felt this weak before.

I reached Metz's chamber, only to find that he wasn't there. Damn it! He told me to be here in time and he himself is missing from the spot!

I was completely disturbed when I realized that there was huge machinery at the corner of his chamber. It looked like some alien technology. It was like a ring, with a shiny silver color. There were many translucent blue tinted pipes attached to it, along with numerous wires. A warning sign was place in front of it, which said 'DO NOT TOUCH'. I wondered what it was doing here.

"What's that, Dante?"

I looked back to take a look at the speaker and found a furry white titan looking at me.

"Cherit! What are you doing here?" I almost screamed at him.

"I saw you going out the house and, since I was bored, I decided to follow you!"

"Spying a detective, huh?" I said, with a smirk.

Cherit moved towards the machine.

"I wonder what this is……….." saying this, he extended his hand to touch it.

"Cherit, no! Don't touch….."

It was, however, too late. He had touched it. I tried to stop him by pulling him towards me, but in vain. Before I could know what was happening, I felt as if I was being absorbed by something.

The darkness gathered me completely.

4


	2. Where is Dante?

WHERE IS DANTE?

**Zhalia**

**11:00 pm**

**Dante Vale's House**

**Venice, Italy.**

It was difficult to sleep alone now when I knew I was married. I needed Dante, though it was hard to accept it. I was becoming addicted to him. The way he touched me during our previous encounter was a feeling which cannot be explained. I wanted him so much at that time. I missed each and every moment of it. I wanted him to be with me.

The problem was that we never got time with each other. Even on our wedding night, we were in Spain searching for a fictional titan instead of being on the bed together. I felt as if something precious had been taken away from me. I know that time will never come back. Dante even tried to make up for the lost time, but was unsuccessful. It's not his fault. It's just that our profession demands us to be more attentive and alert, so it is difficult to get a quality time with each other.

As I lay on the bed, cherishing that wonderful time when we were on the couch together, I realized it has been four hours since Dante left. Maybe, the meeting was about something important. Why didn't they invite me, then? After all, I'm one of the Foundation's top ranking Seeker, just one below Dante. Maybe, Dante was the only one Metz wanted to talk to. They are so close to each and have a father-son like relationship.

I just couldn't sleep anymore. I walked down and switched the TV on. I was never interested in late night shows. They're just so boring. I went to the kitchen and made a cup of coffee. I read some of his, or rather our, mails. I even finished reading four-five magazines. I did everything to keep myself awake till Dante comes back. However, nothing helped me and soon, I was fast asleep on the bed.

**1:00 am**

**Dante Vale's house**

**Venice, Italy.**

I cuddled something soft beside while I was in a deep sleep. Thinking that I was cuddling Dante, I woke up. It was nothing but a stupid pillow. I was growing tired. Where the hell is he? I checked the time and was shocked to see that it showed 1:00 am, He's been away for almost six hours!

I was panicked now. He would have called me if he was about to take that long. I decided to call up Metz. This was getting too much!

"Hello?" Metz said when he picked up the call.

"It's me, Zhalia!"

"Ah- Miss Moon…..I mean Mrs. Vale! What can I do for you? And where's Dante?"

"That's what I want to ask you! He came to meet you and he hasn't returned till now!"

"What! I mean yes, I did call him to meet me, but he never showed up!"

It was confirmed. Something has happened to Dante.

"Zhalia….hello?" Metz said.

I was so panicked that I didn't answer him.

"Hold on, Zhalia! I'm coming there!"

He was at our place within fifteen minutes. Accompanying him were Guggenheim, Sophie and Lok.

"I really don't know……" I said, trying to hold back my tears which.

"Relax, Zhalia! Dante will come back! He can deal with any kind of problem!" Sophie said, trying to console me.

I saw Guggenheim, Metz and Lok calling all the Foundation's Seekers, ordering them to start searching for Dante.

"What if he's been kidnapped by the Suits? You see, it has become more dreadful after Rassimov took over!" Sophie said to Lok.

"It is difficult to imagine that! The Suits can't even touch him!" he replied.

"Still, we should check with the organization!" she suggested.

"Like they're going to tell us……" I murmured.

"At least we can try!"

After an hour, Metz got the report which said that Dante hasn't been captured by the organization. This made me wail even more. I wanted him. I wanted my Dante near me.

Where was he??

**  
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**The upcoming chapters will take sometime to upload as it will require a lot of research before I start writing it. I'll try to upload the next on by 16****th**** March. Till then, keep guessing what might have happened to Dante Vale. Let's be a detective, and search for a lost detective!**

**Don't forget to mention your guesses when reviewing the story. If I get more reviews, I'll try to upload the next chapter before the deadline (Oh yes, I'm bribing you!).**


	3. The Search Begins

THE SEARCH BEGINS

**Sophie**

**8:00 a.m.**

**The Casterwill Manor**

**Venice, Italy.**

The last night was quite exhausting. Although I wanted to stay and help finding Dante, Guggenheim sent me and Lok back home. Lok, however, decided to stay with me and help me to search for him, if possible, using some Casterwill magic. Together, we went through almost each and every tome I could find in my never-ending library. I was so exhausted that I didn't even remember how I reached my bed, sleeping soundly.

I opened my still grainy eyes and felt a warm breath on my nape. As I turned to look behind, I saw Lok, sleeping right beside me.

"LOK, GET UP!" I screamed in his ears. I hated the fact that he slept beside me all night. But somewhere, I felt good about it.

"Let me sleep, you big oaf!" he screamed back at me.

"Lok, I know you're as tired as me, but this is no way to speak like this to me, did you get it?"

He opened his brilliant blue eyes slowly, and turned towards me.

"I'm so sorry, Soph….. I really didn't mean that."

"It's okay. Now get up!"

As we got up from the bed, I remembered that I had to ask him something.

"Tell me, Lok. How did you end up sleeping right beside me?"

"Oh…..last night when we were going through all those heavy…….extremely heavy tomes, you slept on the armchair. I just picked you up and placed you on the bed. I fell asleep sometime after that…."

"Well, whatever. Did you find anything in the tomes?"

"Not something I could understand. They were complicated, out of my understanding limit!"

"I knew you would be of no use………" I murmured to myself.

We begin to search through them again. Suddenly, Lok spoke out.

"I haven't seen Cherit since yesterday!"

"Right! I wonder where he is….." I said.

"Well, last night, when I was going back home from your place, I saw Cherit following Dante……." He said.

"You saw both of them! Why didn't you tell Metz?"

"Hey, I just saw them out when they were just leaving the house! I never bothered to follow them! I don't think this is an important information!"

Somehow, I had to agree with him.

We continued our search when Lok called me. He had a mauve colored tome in his hand and was reading something with concentration. It was rare to see this kind of expression on his face. In fact, he looked cute when he showed seriousness.

"Maybe this can help us!"

I reached for the tome and read it. Yes, Lok was right! It was an ancient spell which could give an idea about a lost person. It could even cause mind communication if we master the spell.

"I'm impressed! Finally, you proved yourself worthy!" I teased him.

"Hey, don't say like that! I was always useful for the team!"

"Okay, to begin with, we'll need something which was close to Dante."

"Something close to him……ummm…. "

He thought for some time before he said, "His trench coat! That was the closest thing to him!"

"Duh, no! We need something small….."

"Then…..We can ask Zhalia! I'm sure she'll help!"

"Gosh! You're brain is working so fine today!"

"Maybe you should let me sleep near you more often if you want me to continue with my 'shining brain'" he said, teasing me.

We reached Dante's house as soon as possible. On ringing the doorbell, Scarlet opened the door.

"Lok! What a great surprise!" she said and hugged him. A pang of jealousy hit me as he blushed.

"Where's Zhalia?" I asked her.

"She's completely under depression! She hasn't come out of her room since morning. She's not even letting anyone in. I'm so afraid. Did you find out anything about Dante?"

"Not now, but we'll know it soon. Can I meet her?"

"You'll be a lucky one if she allows you inside her room!"

"Go away!" Zhalia screamed when I knocked on the door.

"Zhalia please, open the door!"

"I don't want to talk to anyone!"

"Zhalia, it's important…."

"I said, just go away! Leave me alone for heaven's sake!"

"Zhalia, listen; we've found out a way to trace Dante!"

I heard Zhalia saying "Farslip" and the door was wide open in not more than a second. She looked scary, just like a zombie. Her eyes were swollen, probably because she was crying all night. I saw that Gareon was on her lap and she was caressing him. I felt bad when I saw her in that condition.

"Zhalia, have hope. We'll find Dante!"

"You said you can trace him." She said, in an emotionless voice.

"Yes, I read in a tome and…………."

"Just do whatever you can to get him back!" she said, cutting me off.

"Ah, for that we need something which was precious to him. Something small."

"Just look around, there's his bike's key, his handkerchiefs, and……."

"Zhalia, we need something which was really close to him!"

She thought for a minute, looking around herself. I could she was in pain and that she wanted to be left alone, but she was willing to do what I had said. She loved Dante a lot and would've done anything to find him. Suddenly, she made an expression as if she'd realized something.

"My….my wedding ring! I'm sure this will work!"

There! Zhalia was back in form!

"Awesome! Now I'll be able to trace him. But, this will only give an idea about his location. Are you okay with that?"

"It is better to have some clue rather than being clueless! Go on."

I held her wedding ring in my hand and gently closed my eyes. This spell required a lot of concentration. Hence, I kept my number one distraction, i.e. Lok, away from this. The ring in my hand begin to float in the air, forming a pinkish halo around itself. It soon started rotating on its axis, and the visions followed after it.

_High walls………fully armed guards………statues of gods and goddesses………a huge gate………a beautiful palace………a lady with long raven hair………a handsome man beside her………guards guarding the palace………a city………common people………a war………swords, soldiers, dead bodies………a horse………people cheering and celebrating………Dante and Cherit!_

"Did you see anything?" Zhalia asked me as soon as I opened my eyes.

"I did, but I can't make out anything."

"Was the vision blurred?"

"No, it was clear, but confusing."

I told her whatever I saw. From her expression, I could make out that even she didn't understand anything.

"Even Cherit is with him!" I said, as I completed my description.

"Do you know any place like that?" she asked me.

"I don't think so. I've never seen anything like that. Everything looked so…..ancient!"

"At least we've a clue now. Let's start searching."

"Wait, where do we begin from?"

"We begin from the library. Maybe we can find something out there."

She quickly dressed up and went downstairs, where Scarlet and Lok were chatting. She opened her personal holotome, which she received when she officially joined our team.

"Alright seekers! We've a mission: Dante Vale. The aim is to find Huntik Foundation's top and missing seeker and bring him back home." The holotome produced a mission card, which she slid into her pocket.

Gosh! She sounded so much like Dante. No wonder he lost his heart to her. I hated to admit, but I was sure she would make a good leader.

**I'll upload the next chapter as soon as possible. Meanwhile, try to figure out where Dante Vale is. I've provided the necessary clues in this chapter. ****Don't forget to write down your guesses when reviewing it. **


	4. The Wonder of Past

THE WONDER OF PAST

**Dante**

**Around midnight**

**Location unknown.**

"Dante! Dante, wake up!"

I was gaining my consciousness slowly, but was in no mood to get up. I was feeling drowsy, like I'd hundreds of bottles of rum. My right arm was paining badly, and I saw there was a shallow cut. My head was aching badly and a wave of nausea passed me. I just wanted to go home and rest in Zhalia's arms. I just wanted to go home.

"Dante, are you okay?"

It was Cherit.

"Where are we, Cherit?" I asked as I tried to sit.

"I have no clue!"

I looked around, and the place looked creepy. There was no one around.

"I think we're on a beach!" Cherit said, pointing towards a mighty sea on my left side.

"What're we doing at a beach?" he asked me.

"I don't know……One moment, I was in Metz's chamber, and the next moment, I'm here……can't understand anything!" I said, in a confused tone.

"Hey, why don't you use holotome and scan the area?" Cherit said.

"Good idea!" I complimented him.

I took out holotome from my tan trench coat, which now looked muddy.

"Holotome, scan the area."

**Scan in progress. . . . Scan successful!**

"Tell me where we are."

**Sorry, sir. Area not recognized.**

"What the hell! Okay, show me the nearest town or city from where I am."

**Showing a city nearby. Distance: 2 kilometers. **

"Alright, Cherit. Let's go!"

Soon, we reached a city which was shown by holotome. It was impossible to sneak into it as it was covered with extremely high wall from all sides. There were several guards near the gate. They wore weird clothes, something like a tunic, had breastplates and spears. They even wore golden headgears.

"Dante….." Cherit said as we were examining the city from behind a rock.

"Yes?"

"I think I've been here once."

"There you go again!"

"No, really! I think I've been here before."

"So, what is this place?"

"Wait….I'm thinking…."

Meanwhile, I continued watching the city, trying to figure out how to get in there. It was impossible to sneak in without getting notice. I wondered who built the city with so much of protection. The walls were made up of stones and not bricks. It was strange…….who would build walls with stones when bricks are easily available! The gate denoting the entrance was huge, a bit smaller than the walls. There were big torches attached on the either sides of the gate. There were golden statues underneath each torch, which looked like statues of some ancient gods and goddesses. The place itself looked quite ancient.

"Aha!" Cherit suddenly screamed.

"Shhhh! You'll get us both killed!"

"I think we're the film city!"

"What?!"

"Maybe, we're at Hollywood!"

"What are you talking about? Hollywood is in the USA. We can't reach there in just like that!"

"Then it is Bollywood!"

"Cherit…….I don't think we're in India!"

"Then…….."

"You really have no idea where we are, right?"

He shook his head.

We shifted our position and went towards the farthest wall, were it was difficult for the guards to see us. They looked active and kept guarding the walls as if they were guarding something precious.

"I think it is a film city…..look they're all wearing costumes! Maybe they're shooting for a new film……."

"Who cares?"

"I care! I've never seen a film being shot! I wonder who all are starring in this movie. Looks like it's going to be a blockbuster!"

"Okay, listen; watch out if anybody is coming while I try to climb this wall."

"Are you sure you'll be able to climb up there?"

"I'll give it a try, at least."

I placed myself near the wall.

"HYPERSTRIDE!" As soon as I said those words, I was lifted up in the air. Reaching half way to the wall, I activated nimblefire and the next moment I was standing on the top of the wall. Suddenly, my head started aching so badly that I screamed. Using so much of energy made my already weak body even weaker. Soon, everything in front of me blurred and I lost my consciousness again.

* * *

"Are you okay, young man?" a soft, but masculine, voice said to me.

I woke up and found myself sleeping on a soft but poor quality bed. There were clothes hanging around all over the room. I looked around and saw a man, probably younger to me, was standing with his back towards me. He was preparing something.

"Ouch! My head hurts!"

"Easy, young man! This medicine will help you a lot!" Saying this he turned towards me.

Wait, I know this guy! I've seen him earlier and I'm pretty sure I know him!

"Tersely! What are you doing here?" I almost screamed at him.

"Who is Tersely?"

"You, who else?"

"I am not Tersely, you must have mistaken! My name is Zander."

"But…….but…no you are Tersely, Montehue's partner!"

"No, I am Zander and I am a medical student. I think you are getting mental shocks. Better drink this!" he handed me a small bowl filled with green liquid.

"Tersely, stop it now!"

"I am not Tersely! And, by the way, that is a weird name!"

"You are!"

"No, I am not!"

"You are!"

"No, I am not!"

"You are!"

"No, I am not! Now stop speaking and start drinking!"

I drank it absent-mindedly, still looking at him. How's this possible. I know he's Tersely. Maybe he and Montehue are playing some kind of a joke on me. They've done it last time also, when they all pretended as if they don't know me at all. I had a hard time that day, until Sophie came to my rescue. I still remember how much Zhalia shouted at her for spoiling the plan she and Montehue made to scare hell out of me, along with Tersely and Lok. Maybe, they were doing it again.

Soon I realized that I haven't seen Cherit. I found him on a couch, sleeping soundly.

"That's a weird talking animal. He kept screaming 'Help, help!' until I noticed you. You should be thankful to that little fellow. I was quite afraid of this one, but he did no harm to me. Where did you get him from? And why are you wearing such weird clothes?" he said, pointing towards me.

"Ah….." I groaned in pain.

"I am so sorry! Maybe, we can talk later. You need some rest. And, I am not Tersely. I'm very much serious."

This was impossible! Why the hell was he denying the fact that he's Tersely? Why the hell was he calling himself Zander? And, above all, I wanted to ask him one last question.

"Terse…..I mean, Zander. Can you tell me where am I? This place looks……quite lively!"

"Oh, thank you for appreciating it! And, welcome to Troy!"

What nonsense, I thought. Tersely was now testing my patience. But then…….. I remembered, seeing that big machine, absorbing me in…….creepy place…..beach…….area unrecognized by holotome.

_This place looks creepy…….._

_Sorry, sir. Area not recognized….._

_I'll try and climb the wall………_

The high wall did look suspicious, and according to histories, Troy was protected by huge wall surrounding the mighty kingdom. But, how is this possible? I'm just dreaming……it's nothing but a weird dream.

I checked my watch when a horror struck me. It showed 1200 B.C. as the date.

No, I'm not dreaming.

There's something seriously wrong.

God! I'm really in Troy!!!


	5. A Realization

A REALIZATION

**Zhalia**

**2 days later**

**9:00 am**

**Streets of Venice, Italy**

I was having trouble sleeping ever since Dante went missing. There was no peace of mind, no relief, nothing. Day and night, we searched for clues, hoping that one day we would find him. I believed that he was somewhere near us…..near me. But after Sophie had those visions, my belief was shattered. I couldn't think of any place which matched her description. I was absolutely sure about that.

Sophie continued to search through each and every library in Venice, along with Scarlet, much against her wish. I and Lok investigated the streets, asking people if they had any idea where he went that night. I was strong from outside, dealing with any kind of difficulty that created obstacles in our search. Inside, however, I felt weak. I knew; Dante was the one who kept me strong. I was nothing without him. The very thought of losing him sent a chill through my spine. I shivered.

"Zhalia, are you okay?" Lok asked me when he saw me shivering.

"Yeah…..just a bit tired…" I managed to answer him.

We continued walking until another chilling wave struck me.

"Zhalia, maybe you should go home. You've been searching continuously for two days!"

"Lok, I said I'm fine! I'm okay….."

"I don't think so!"

"Stop arguing with me, Lok!"

"You look so pale!" saying this, he touched my forehead. "And, you're warm too! You've fever!"

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do!"

There was no use of fighting with this kid.

"I think we should continue." I said, finally.

"Not we. Only I. You go home."

"Lok, stop it now!"

"Look Zhalia; I know you're worried about him. But you can't play with your health! I know you're the leader of the team now but this is no way to work! I'm sure even Dante would have said that!"

I hated to admit but he was right. Dante always insisted on healthcare. I remember the day when we were in Russia for a mission. I had a bad headache and Dante ordered me to take some rest. He didn't agree with me at all even when I protested. Later, when I didn't listen to him, he picked me up in his shoulder and walked straight into a warm room, where he tied my hands to the bedpost. He forcefully made me sleep. I could remember every moment of that incident, like it happened yesterday. I smiled in my mind.

"Alright, I'll go. But you continue with the search" I said, finally agreeing with Lok.

He was right about the fever. When I went home and checked my temperature, it came out to be 102 degree Celsius. Dammit! This had to happen right now! I took a paracetamol and went to bed. I was feeling dizzy and was glad that I had listened to Lok.

**A day later**

**12:00 pm**

**Dante Vale's House**

**Venice, Italy.**

A day's rest was quite medicinal. I felt much better than yesterday. The fever was gone too. Good, now I'll be able to get back to work. I called up Sophie and got to know that she was still searching the library, but didn't find anything of relevance. She even searched her history textbook which she used at school, but she didn't find anything. I told her to keep searching. What else could I've said?

I called up Lok and found that he was still interviewing the people on the streets. According to him, at least five people had seen him passing their shops that night, and the rest of the information they provided was irrelevant.

"I've covered half………."he began to speak again.

"Sir, would you like to buy these apples?" I heard a shopkeeper's voice on his phone.

"I said no! I don't want anything!" I heard him screaming at the shopkeeper. "These people can be so irritating!" he said to me as I chuckled.

"Anyways, keep searching. I'll join you in fifteen minutes!" saying this, I kept the phone down.

I quickly took a bath and dressed up. As I was having my breakfast (I'm not a good cook. Hence, the toast prepared by me was almost burnt!), Metz appeared on screen.

"Lok told me you had fever. How are you now?"

"Feeling better than any other day!"

"That was good to know. So, how are you doing with the search?"

I gave him all the details.

"Keep up with it. I'm sure we'll find him soon." Saying this, he went off screen.

I went to the kitchen to wash the dishes. Metz had dark circles around his eyes and he looked distracted when he was talking to me. Maybe, he was having a hard time without Dante near him, just like me. Somehow, I was happy with the fact that I wasn't the only one suffering this fate. Metz was unhappy too.

Metz………

Suddenly, a thought struck me. It was something important, very important. Without any further delay, I called up Lok.

"Hey Zhalia! Where are you?"

"Listen Lok, I think we've missed something!"

"What are you talking about?"

"See, we're searching each and every corner of Venice. Still we're unable to find anything! Sophie is going to die in one of those libraries and still find nothing!"

"I really don't understand…."

"I'm trying to say that maybe Dante wasn't on his way to or back from the Headquarters when he vanished! Something must've happened when he was inside……"

"But, it is not possible. The place is held under a heavy security and it is impossible for any one, who's not a member, to sneak in!"

"You're right. But what if that kidnapper is a member?"

"You….you…you mean to say that a spy kidnapped him?"

"It's possible."

"But who? The Organization…."

"That is possible too. They have been behind my life ever since the day I betrayed them!"

"But, the report says that he's not with them."

"Do you really believe those?"

He thought for a moment before he spoke out, "I don't. But, what about the visions Sophie had?"

"Maybe, they have taken him to their top secret place so that we've no clue about his location."

"So, what now?"

"Take Sophie and Scarlet with you and go to the headquarters. I'll meet you there. We'll surely get some clues."

I kept the phone down. My hopes were finally rising again.


	6. Another Surprise

ANOTHER SURPRISE

**Dante**

**Early morning**

**1200 B.C.**

**Troy**

I opened my eyes slowly. My vision was still not very clear. The headache was gone, but my head felt heavy. The nauseous feeling was still there, but I had it under my control. My bruised arm was now fine, with slight pain. The cut was healing.

I looked around myself. Nothing had changed. The clothes were still hanging around everywhere in that small room. But due to light, I was able to see more. There were ripped curtains dyed purple. Some earthen pots and urns were kept on the shelf right above the bed where I was lying. I was secretly praying that none of them fall on my head. On a small, rickety table, I saw thick books kept neatly. Maybe, they were Zander's medicine references. There was only one oil lamp in the entire room, which was placed on the bed-side table. The room itself had a horrible odor. This helped in increasing my nausea.

"Oh! So you're awake now!" Zander said as he entered the room. His clothes were wet.

"Why are you wet?" I asked him.

"It's raining heavily outside! And, I forgot to take my cover with me." He entered another similar room, which I supposed was a kitchen. After sometime, he came out carrying two cups filled with some hot substance. He gave me one.

"What's this?" I asked him.

"Hot cocoa. It will give you some relief."

We drank it in silence.

"You never told me who you are?"

I looked at him, thinking whether I should tell him my real name. I was in the past, and I could cause some problems if I tell them my name. They may think it's weird. And, my doubts were confirmed last night when I called Zander Tersely and he commented on it.

"Well?" he said, with mild irritation in his voice.

"My name is…..uh…..Da….Da….Danelisious!"

"That's a nice name. It sounds really……fresh!" he said, with a tone of confusion.

"Thank you."

"What about that furry creature?"

"Uh….he's…..Che…..Cherro!"

"Weird name…..but pets always have a weird name! He even talks!"

"Ah, it's a special gift..."

"You must've pleased your god so much that he awarded you with this, right?"

"Ah….yes, right." I didn't know what else to say.

"So where are you from?"

Another problem here. He doesn't know a thing about Italy. It never existed during this time. Hell, what am I supposed to say?

"Uh…I'm from…..Ven….Venicillia!" I finally said, making up something from Venice.

"Strange, I've never heard of it…"

"It's a…..far away…land!"

"So, do they wear that kind of clothes there?" he said, pointing towards my trousers and shirt.

"Yes."

"It looks good! So, tell me, how you ended up here."

Time for another lie!

"Well…uh…I'm. a….a….mer…merchant! And….some…robbers! Yes, some robbers attacked me last night and….they ….took …away my things! Oh no! What am I going to do now?" I said, slightly overacting in the end.

"Relax, Danelisious. You can stay here as long as you want!"

He took my empty cup and went back to the kitchen.

"So, what are your plans today?" he asked me.

"Ah, well…I was thinking…..maybe…I could take a walk around!" I said eager to get out of this room full of strange odor.

"Here, take my cover! Get back before you get too wet!"

I walked out of the cottage, and took a deep breath. It was a relief to come out it. The air was fresh and unpolluted. There were similar cottages surrounding Zander's, most of them in bad condition. I started to move.

I was in the least developed area of Troy. I passed the market place, which was now deserted due to heavy rains. I was dressed as a Trojan, wearing a knee length brown tunic and sandals. Zander insisted me to wear them so that I didn't look like some foreigner. I had to agree with the fact that these clothes were quite comfortable. I saw a group of young ladies approaching my direction. As I passed them, they stared at me and giggled. One of them blushed so hard that her entire face became red. Maybe, this was because of my goatee. I bet nobody had this kind of beard. The ladies must've liked it a lot. There was another group, which consisted of young men. They too stared at me, with jealousy in their eyes when they saw one of those girls blushing. I never knew I was that good-looking, until now. I gave those ladies a smile, and the blushing lady fainted right in front of me! Gosh! If I'd known how effective my smile was, I would have done it long before to seduce Zhalia.

Thinking of Zhalia, I wondered how she was way back in Venice. There seemed to be no way out of this. I was dying to see her. She would be quite worried. I just wanted to go back to Venice……….back to her.

As it rained heavily, I remembered the day we got engaged.

"_C'mon Dante! Its fun out here!" she called me, as she danced in the rain. She looked so beautiful._

"_Zhalia, you'll get ill if you stay there for long!" I said._

"_You worry a lot, Dante! Just come here!"_

_She grabbed my hand forcefully took me out in the rain_

"_See, isn't it good?" she said, smiling at me._

"_Yeah, it feels like heaven………"_

_She pressed her lips against mine gently as I held her fragile waist. We kissed each other so passionately that I just forgot everything that was happening around me for that very moment._

"_I love you!" she whispered in my ears._

"I love you too….Zhalia." I said in an inaudible voice, to myself.

I continued to move around the palace, lost in my own thoughts when I realized that a woman was staring at me from the balcony of the palace. She had long, raven hair, bronze skin tone and lovely red lips. She continued to stare at me while I was looking at her. My eyes widened. She kept looking at me through her almond shaped eyes, standing still. She soon went inside her chamber.

She was beautiful.

She was mesmerizing.

She was lovely.

I know her.

I could bet my life on the fact that I'd just see Zhalia!

4


	7. Similar Face, Different Souls

SIMILAR FACES, DIFFERENT SOULS

**Dante**

**Morning Time**

**1200 B.C.**

**Troy**

Yes, I did see her! I saw Zhalia, my Zhalia! Right up there! I knew it was her, no doubt about it! I could say that by looking at her features. It was her!

Or, it was just my imagination.

There was only one way to clear this doubt. Sneak into the palace.

I know it would be a silly thing to do, but this was the only way I could make sure. I came close to the palace wall and easily passed it since it was not that high. Just then, I saw two guards approaching my direction. I quickly hid behind a bush. As they came near to me, it was possible for me to hear their conversation.

"The war has started. They attacked us yesterday!"

"You think I don't know that? The entire thing is the Prince's mistake. How could he commit such a mistake?"

"It's not his mistake! She's so beautiful that she could hypnotize any man!"

"Thank god I fell asleep when she was being welcomed. God knows what would have happened if I would have seen her. My wife would have beaten me black and blue!"

They both laughed and continued to walk away. Were they talking about the famous Trojan War?

I somehow made through and reached at the bottom of that balcony from where Zhalia was looking at me.

"Hyperstride!"

Soon I was standing on that very balcony. It gave a good view of the entire city of Troy. I slowly made my way into the chamber. It was huge. Even the combination of my house's living room and kitchen couldn't have managed to be so big. There was a king size bed right in the middle of the room, with a royal blue bed sheet spread on it. The roof was high and brightly colored. The curtains were golden and translucent.

"So, you are finally here." A sweet voice said.

I turned behind and saw Zhalia. She looked like some Trojan princess, wearing a dark green gown. She had a great red jewel around her neck; red drops falling from it but vanished before they touched and stained her white bosom. She looked like she had just stepped out of some fairy tale.

"You were waiting for me?" I asked her.

"No, I wasn't. But I did expect that you'll come here."

"What made you think that?"

"You thought nobody will notice how eagerly you were wandering around the palace?'

"I was just lost."

"You weren't lost, young man! You came here to rescue me! You are a spy sent by Menelaus!"

"What?! I'm not a spy! And, who's Menelaus?"

"Don't try to act as if you don't know my husband!"

"What? Your husband?"

"You are a spy sent by the Greeks!"

"I really don't understand….."

She approached with a look as if she was going to murder me. Her eyes were red, probably due to anger. But, instead, she fell near my feet.

"Please….please don't take me away! I don't want to go back to him! I don't want to go back to Menelaus!" she cried as she begged.

"Listen, I'm not here to harm you, Zhalia!"

"Zhalia? You must have mistaken, young man. I'm Helen."

A bolt of shock struck me. So, in this age, Zhalia is the famous Helen of Troy! Wow!

"I mean……I won't hurt you. I'm not a Greek."

"Then, who are you?" she asked me.

"I….ah…Danelisius……."

Suddenly, the door of her chamber opened and a young man came in. My eyes widened when I saw the guy's face.

"Helen, who is this?" he said, looking at me.

"Paris!" she almost screamed and ran towards him.

My god! This guy Paris looks ditto like Lok!

"How did you get in, young man? Don't you know that trespassers can be prosecuted?"

"I was just….."

"He's my friend, Paris." Helen said.

"I thought you didn't have any friend in Troy!"

"Well….he saved me long back time from a horrible incident….."

He looked at me, then to her and then back to me.

"Nice to meet you, young man." He said, with a smile. He looked exactly like Lok when he smiled!

"It's my honor, Lok…..I mean, Prince Paris."

Soon he was gone, leaving me and Zhalia…….Helen alone in the chamber.

"Why did you save me?" I asked her as she closed the doors.

"I knew you meant no wrong. You'll never harm me. And, besides, I wouldn't like it if a handsome man like you would be punished!"

I smiled, trying hard not to blush.

"So tell me, Danelisius, where are you from?"

I repeated everything I'd told Zander before. From what I saw, she completely resembled Zhalia, except the fact that Helen was much gentler than her. This was one reason why I didn't get attracted to her. I prefer strong ones, both from body and mind. Zhalia was perfect for me. Maybe, I was the first man in the entire history who didn't fall for her at all.

It was time to leave, and as I went towards the balcony to take leave, she spoke out.

"You will get hurt if you jump from there! Why don't you use the main exit?"

"I'll be fine. Don't worry." Saying this, I jumped from the balcony.

"Featherdrop!"

I landed on the ground smoothly. Just then Helen called me out.

"Danelisius, will you come back tomorrow?"

"I will." I climbed the wall and went back to Zander's place.

It was a strange fact that she was inviting me for another chat. Even more surprising was my answer back to her. Maybe, it was because she looked like Zhalia, and the fact that I was craving to be with her. But……..

Why did she invite me again?


	8. The Truth

THE TRUTH

**Zhalia**

**6:45 pm**

**Route to the Huntik Foundation Headquarters**

**Venice, Italy.**

The sky was turning pinkish orange as the sun was setting. The cool breeze played with my hair as I drove towards the Headquarters on Dante's bike. I always wanted to use his bike. It was much better than my own, which was getting repaired at a local garage. I liked driving through streets. Dante often took me out for a ride, whenever we had some free time (which was rare). He always took me to a piazza after the ride, where we would give ourselves an ice-cream treat. Tears started to flow from my eyes as a trail of memories ran through my mind, but I brushed them away. I'd to be strong to find him. I couldn't let my emotions overtake me. I'd to keep them under control, like I've always been doing.

Soon, I reached the Headquarters, where I saw Lok, Sophie and Scarlet waiting for me at the entrance. I went ahead with Sophie while Lok and Scarlet went to the head of the Security to seek permission from him to search.

"Alright, we'll start from here!" I said to Sophie when we entered the meeting hall. I continued, "We'll have to make up teams. I'll send Lok and Scarlet to search the engineering room while we both finish up with this hall, okay?"

"No!" she said, surprising me with her answer.

"No?"

"Yes!"

"Ah, yes?"

"I mean no!"

"No?"

"Yes, no!"

"Yes or no?"

"Yes….i mean no! Arrggg! I want Lok!"

"Why?"

"Lok always teams up with Scarlet!"

"Not always! Last time, he was with me! What's the problem with them teaming up?"

"I thought you'll understand……"

"Sophie, this is not a right time to think about your feelings and all those stuffs!"

"I know, but I still want to be with Lok! We're always a good team!"

"No, you'll be with me."

"Zhalia, please!"

"I've made my decision."

"I want Lok!"

"No."

"I want Lok!"

"No!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"I want Lok!"

"Okay, okay! Fine, you'll be with Lok and I'll be with Scarlet. Happy now?"

Thankfully, Lok and Scarlet entered the hall, along with the permission chit. We soon began to search, with Lok and Sophie investigating the top floor while I and Scarlet were at the basement. We kept searching, hoping to find some clue about Dante. We were so lost in our work that we didn't know three hours passed away just like that.

Suddenly, my cell phone rang. It was Lok.

"Did you find anything?" I asked him.

"No. What about you?"

"If I would have found something, I wouldn't have asked you!"

"Gee, right!"

"Why did you call?"

"Just to tell you that we've finished searching the entire floor. But, there's nothing."

"I don't think my guess was right. Maybe we should go back to the streets………"

"Is this what you want?"

I thought for sometime. We've checked each and every corner of the Headquarters, still we haven't found anything.

"Yes, let us retire from here now. I don't think we can find anything."

In no more than a minute, Lok and Sophie were back with us. I could see tiredness in their eyes.

"I knew you did this to separate me from Lok…" Sophie whispered to me as we were going out of the HQ.

"Hey, you got three hours with him!"

She didn't say anything and went ahead to join Lok and Scarlet in their conversation. I wasn't listening to them. Instead I was thinking. We searched everywhere. Still, there was not a single clue. We even searched the route joining our home and the HQ. Still, we didn't find anything. It was impossible for Dante to take another route, as there wasn't one. I knew I had missed something. Something really important………..

Yes, I know what we'd missed!!

"Guys, wait!"

All of them looked back at me.

"What happened, Zhalia?" Scarlet asked me.

"We've missed something!"

"Like?" Lok said.

"It's not like, it's what!"

"Okay, so what have we missed?" Sophie asked me, irritation clearly heard in her tone.

"Metz's Chamber!"

* * *

"You want to search my room?" Metz asked me when we approached him.

All of us nodded.

"So now, even I'm under suspicion……" he said, in a sad tone.

"Metz, don't get me wrong, but Dante may have come here to meet you!" I said.

"But, I told you that he didn't. I waited for him for at least an hour, but he didn't show up!"

"Maybe, he came here after you left….." Lok said.

"Dante is a very punctual guy." Metz said, defending Dante.

"Then maybe, he came before you in this room!" Scarlet added.

He thought for a minute before answering, "That's possible."

"So……." Sophie began to speak.

"So?"

"Can we?"

I was pretty sure that he didn't want us to do this. But, he finally agreed.

Once again, we started to search. We were now behaving more like some professional detective rather than Seekers. In way, I liked it. It was a good change.

"Zhalia, what's that?" Lok said, pointing towards a shiny object which was lying near a red curtain. Lok went towards it and picked it up.

"It's a key chain." Sophie said, as she took a look at it.

Wait a minute.

Shiny…….crystal…….key chain……

"Dante!" I almost screamed.

"I don't think this looks like Dante from any angle….." Lok said, looking at the key chain.

"No silly, I mean this is Dante's!"

"That….that means that he was here!" Sophie said.

Slowly I moved towards the point where Lok found that key chain. There was something very unusual about that curtain. Was there something behind it?

I slowly moved the curtain away. My eyes widened when I saw a huge machine, right in front of me. It looked like a bigger form of a ring, silvery in color and numerous wires and pipes coming out of it. A sign was kept in front of it, which said 'DO NOT TOUCH'.

I'd never seen something like that.

"What is this, Metz?" I asked.

"I'm not sure. Research is still going on." He answered.

Suddenly, there was knocking at the door. It was Miles Jefferson, one of the foundations top ranking scientists.

"Dr. Jefferson! Glad to see you!" Metz said.

"Metz…..and who is that??" he said, looking at me.

"That's Zhalia Moon…….I mean, Zhalia Moon-Vale!"

"Oh, so you're that famous Zhalia who melted Dante's heart! I finally met you!" he said, with his boyish smile. Somehow, the idea of being famous didn't suit me.

"So……….." Metz said.

"Ah, yes! We've finished our research about that machine."

What a wonderful timing!

"So, what is it?" I asked him.

"Well, it's something like a time-traveling device."

"What did he say?" I heard Lok whispering to Sophie.

"A time machine, duh!" she answered.

"A TIME MACHINE!!!" Lok almost screamed.

"Oh yes, my dear kid!" Dr. Jefferson said, imitating him.

Lok and I stared at each other in silence.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked him.

"Yes, I think I'm thinking what you're thinking. But, I don't what you are thinking. So, what are you thinking?" Lok said.

"I think……I think…..Dante is trapped in that time machine…………."


	9. The War

THE WAR

**Dante**

**1200 B.C.**

**Troy**

The past few days witnessed a lot of disturbances. Since the war had taken place between the Greeks and the Trojans, there had been a great loss of lives and properties, equally on both the sides. The soldiers would come and force the youths to join the army as they were lacking soldiers. Those who denied; their belongings were confiscated. Hence, they had no option but to join them. They had taken at least seventy five men from the area where I lived in not more than two days. I wasn't noticed, as I spent most of my time with Helen, due to which I wasn't at home most of the time. She kept inviting me, and I never denied. She was filling up the space instead of Zhalia. The only thing different was that I considered her no more than a friend.

They couldn't take Zander, but he was forced to join the medical force responsible for healing the injured soldiers. He worked hard day and night, and, in a way, was glad about it.

Early in the morning, I went with Zander to the forest of Ida, as he had to collect some herbs to make a medicine. For the first time in my life, I saw a real forest. The one I saw when I encountered the Amazons was nothing compared to this one. It was vast, never-ending. There were numerous waterfalls, adding to its beauty. My eyes were relieved when I saw the lush green forest. I could feel nature in the air as a light breeze blew on my face. The area was as cold as an air conditioned room. Only, in this case, there was a natural air conditioner.

"I can see you're enjoying yourself." Zander said to me.

"Well…..we hardly have any forest back in Venicillia…." I said, actually meaning the fact that there were no forests in Venice.

"It must be hard for your place to progress, then."

"That's why we are engaged in trading a lot!"

We kept walking when Zander spoke out again.

"You better stay here while I go and find the herbs as it is really dense inside. You may get lost."

I agreed and he went away into the darkness. I sat on a rock, thinking again about getting out of here. The war was on, and it was no longer safe for me to stay here. I had to find a way to get out of this ancient world and reach the twenty first century. The only thing that created a problem was the fact that I didn't know how to. I secretly wished Sophie's presence. She would have known some Casterwill spell to get back to the future.

Suddenly, I heard something. It was a song, and a lady was singing it.

_I have been waiting for so long,_

_So long, but you never came_,

_You went away from me_

_Now my world would never be the same_

_You went away from me_

_Without any signs of coming back_

_Is it the beauty?_

_Which you think I lack_

_Then why did you go to her_

_And you left me behind_

_I saw you turn away from me_

_Now you are out of sight……_

Eager to know who this lady with such a lovely voice was, I followed the sound. I kept looking around, and saw a red-haired woman in pale pink gown was sitting on a rock, with her back towards me. Mist was gathered all around her and light sunshine was falling on her like a spotlight. Numerous exotic plants were growing all around the area where she sat. There were doves, carrying flowers which they showered on her. The whole scene looked like some kind of fantasy. I was so mesmerized by the surrounding that I dared to take another step towards her.

She suddenly stopped her song, and turned to look at me. I stood there, still, hoping that I'd not scared her. She looked very young, with her emerald colored eyes, beautiful pink lips and her snow-white skin. She kept staring at me, as if I had done something wrong.

And, this girl completely resembled Sophie Casterwill!

"Soph-" I almost said it before she got panicked and ran into a cave nearby. I was tempted to follow her, but stood still at my position. I didn't want to scare her.

"Go away, young man! You can't come here!" she said, from inside the cave.

"May I ask you why?" I asked her in the most polite way.

"This place belongs to the nymphs! It is forbidden to humans!"

"So, you are a nymph?"

"Who else do you think I am? Go away before other nymphs notice you, or else you will be forced to be one of us!"

"Well, you'll have to turn me into a maiden first! And, besides, you should stop singing that loudly if you really care about your privacy!"

She didn't answer me, but she came out of the cave. She was, however, no longer angry and had a smirk on her lips.

"Are you some kind of a wizard?" she asked me.

"What makes you think like that?" I asked her.

"I can feel it. I can feel the magic…………"

There was no way of hiding it from her. I decided to tell her the truth.

"I know a bit of neutral magic."

She took a step towards me.

"What's your name, young man?"

"Da….Danelisius. I'm from Venicillia." I said. I didn't have problem in introducing myself now as I got used to it.

"Hmmm……you did look like some foreigner….."

"You never told me who you are."

"I am Oenone."

Oenone……I've read this name somewhere………

"And, whom are you waiting for?" I asked her, considering that song of hers.

She suddenly drifted away from me and said, "My love."

"I don't understand…." I said, actually meaning it.

"Paris….."

"You mean, Lok…..uh…..Prince Paris?" I almost screamed at her. She nodded.

Then I remembered. Oenone was supposed to be Paris's bride before he left the woods of Ida to stay in his kingdom.

"That witch……she stole him………." She said, tears falling from her eyes.

"You mean Helen of fair hands?"

"Don't say her…..name…" she started to cry.

I felt sorry for her. I knew there was something going on between Lok and Sophie, but I didn't know that their love for each other was this old!

I soon took a leave from there. Thankfully, I reached the same spot where Zander had left me and went towards home. Little did I know that there was a surprise waiting for me.

* * *

"No if's or but's. You will have to join the army." A soldier said to me.

Yes, I was finally caught and trapped. This was the thing I was afraid about and it happened.

"You don't understand. I really can't come!" I pleaded them.

"We are not giving you a choice. It's an order given by King Priam!"

I tried protesting a lot, but failed. Soon they took me towards the barracks, where they trained me for fifteen days. I tried hard to spoil everything, but they didn't give up on me. I had to admire their patience.

**On the sixteenth day**

**1200 B.C.**

**Troy**

Finally, after the training was over, they put me on the battle field. I really didn't have any problem with fighting; I just didn't want to fight in this period. I didn't want anyone to know who really I was. People were already getting suspicious of me, and this would surely confirm their doubts. Nobody knew I possessed magic, except Soph…..Oenone. I didn't even tell Zhal…..Helen, to whom I used to chat with regularly. I had no choice but to fight, as they threatened to kill Cherit if I didn't listen to him. I really wouldn't have cared if Cherit had had his amulet with him. Unfortunately, he was separated away from it long time back. That only meant that no matter what happened, I had to fight to keep Cherit alive. The worst part was that I couldn't even use my powers.

As more and more thoughts gathered me, I saw the Greek forces approaching us. There was a command for all to get ready. Being a foot soldier, I had no other weapon except a sword and just a breast plate, helmet and a shield in the name of protection. I was standing in the first line, much against my wish. I could see Lok…….Paris from where I stood. Beside him was Hector, who resembled my friendly rival Montehue. It wasn't surprising. I'd had enough of resemblance stuff. Montehue did fit Hector's character, considering how powerful both were.

"Soldiers, ready!" a call came. All of drew our swords. There was another call for the archers to get ready.

"ATTACK!!!!"

The line behind pushed me to go forward towards the Greek soldiers, who looked fierce. Oh god! I really didn't want to create any mess, and certainly didn't want to die in the past! I looked at Helen, who waved towards me. She didn't look happy at all. Obviously, her love Paris was there in the battle field. But her eyes were glued on me. As I turned towards the battle field again, I felt somebody's eyes on me. No, it wasn't only Helen's. There was someone else. I looked around me, and found a man, well built, standing on a hill. He looked at me, then to Helen and back to me. I bet I saw him smirking, as I had used farsight (a magic Metz had taught me recently).

He looked so much like Santiago.

I even saw Helen smiling towards him.

The battle didn't go well. Troy had lost many men. Even I had an injury in my leg. I was tempted to use Touchram so as to finish this thing right then and there. Somehow, I kept myself under control.

"It may hurt." Helen said. She had requested the healers to personally attend me. It was good to know that she cared for me. However, the idea of getting close to her didn't suit me well. Even though she looked like Zhalia, she was no where near to her. Both of them had personalities that were poles apart.

She started to sew up my wound as I flinched a bit due to pain. It was really stupid of me to get my wound healed in a traditional way. I could have simply use Everfight. But I couldn't do it in front of them.

"Can I ask you something?" I said as soon as she finished her work.

"Go on."

"Do you care for me?"

There was an uncomfortable silence for a while. I could see she didn't want to answer.

"Is it wrong for me to care?" she asked me.

"No….but I feel that……you care too much…."

The silence was restored again, but she finally chose to break it.

"I do."

"Why?"

"Because………"

"Because?"

"Because……….."

"Say it."

"Because…..I….I…I think……I…..love…you…."

I was shocked at what I'd just heard from her. No way was all this possible. She was lovely, beautiful……But I never thought of her like that. In fact, the worst part was that I wasn't attracted towards her from any angle. I used to spend a lot of time with her just because it gave me a feeling of being with Zhalia.

"I'm afraid I cannot return your feelings. I'm married." I said, finally speaking a word of truth to her. I had a feeling that she would burst out crying in front of me. But she didn't.

"I don't care. Even I am."

I realized how true her words. She not only had a husband, but also had a daughter, whose name I suppose was Hermione (no, she wasn't the one from Harry Potter, of whom Sophie was very fond of).

"But, don't you love Paris?"

'He tricked me to come with him. He disguised himself as Menelaus when he did that. True, I wasn't happy back there in Lacedaemon, but I feel worse in Troy. I just can't live here, with women constantly cursing me, especially Oenone."

"You know about her?" I asked her, while brushing tears from her eyes.

"One of the Paris's friend told me that she was supposed to be his bride…….I spoilt everybody's life!"

"Why didn't you go back to Menelaus?"

"Don't you understand? He would kill me as I've dishonored him!"

"But, it wasn't your fault!"

"Who will explain that to him?"

We both kept mum for sometime.

"Do you still love Paris?" I finally asked her.

"I used to. That was before I knew about Oenone."

"You really can't come with me. I'm a commoner." I said, thinking that this might make her stop thinking about me.

"I don't care." This was all she answered.

"But, I'm married!!"

"Take me in as your second mistress!"

Somehow, the thought of having two Zhalias was out of my preference. I was happy to have only one. It was best to change the subject for I was tired, both mentally and physically.

"I wanted to ask you about that man who was looking towards you during the entire battle."

"You mean the one who was actually looking at YOU?" she said, stressing on the 'YOU' part. I nodded.

"That was Achilles."

**Readers to note few points:**

**The song written above is completely original (Please review whether you liked it or not!)**

**Oenone is ****not**** a fictional character. Neither is Hermione.**


	10. The Rescue Mission

THE RESCUE MISSION

**Lok**

**9:20 pm**

**Metz's Chamber**

**Huntik Foundation Headquarters**

**Venice, Italy.**

I gasped when Zhalia said that it was possible that Dante was captured by that weirdo time machine. Everybody looked at her as if she'd said something really horrible. But, I could see that everyone was thinking the same way as Zhalia. Everyone but Sophie.

"How could you say such a thing about Dante? He's your husband!" she screamed at her.

"I'm just saying it might be possible!" she screamed back.

"What really makes you thinks like that?"

"Uh….well, you had those visions……" I said, controlling myself to not interrupt these two, but failing instantly. Sophie gave me a deadly look.

"Ah, yes! You had those weird visions. You said the area looked like something ancient. Didn't you?" Zhalia said.

"I never said that!" Sophie protested.

"Yes, you did!" Zhalia said, with a smirk.

"No."

"Yes!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"No, no, NO!"

"Yes, yes, YES!"

"Uh….I would hate to interrupt, but we've to think about saving Dante!" I said, finally getting pissed off with their argument. They just start off anywhere whenever they get an opportunity. This reminded me of Cherit's favorite quote.

"_I've been here long before human history; women have always remained a mystery"_

I giggled in my head, thinking that even my condition was something similar to Cherit's. I really missed that fellow a lot!

"Dr. Jefferson, what do we do now?" Zhalia asked Miles.

"I really don't know……..I've never studied something like this. I'm sorry, dear. I've no solution to provide."

I could see Zhalia's eyes welling up. But, she blinked faster in order to avoid them from bursting out of her eyes. She bit her lips. I'd never seen her looking so helpless…………so vulnerable.

"We'll find out some way…" I said, reassuring her.

"But, we don't even know that if he's really there or not!" Scarlet said. I truly agreed with her.

"Maybe, I can help in this case!" saying this, Sophie went near the machine, extended her arms towards it, and murmured some inaudible spell. Her hands produced a pinkish eerie around the entire machine. She kept her eyes tightly closed, concentrating on the spell.

"It's confirmed." She said, softly.

This time, Zhalia couldn't control herself, and teardrops fell from her eyes, like beautiful pearls. Metz patted her back to comfort her while Scarlet gave her a light hug. She finally stopped, looking towards us as if nothing had happened.

"Sorry, I just got….carried away…." She said, with a tone of sadness in her voice.

"We understand." All of us said together, which was quite amusing. It made Zhalia smile.

"Now, how do we get him back?" I asked Metz, who looked at Sophie.

"I really don't know any spell which could get a person back to the future." She said.

"Then…..there's only one way……" Zhalia said as we all looked towards her.

"What do you have in your mind?" Scarlet asked her while I gave her a quizzical look.

"One of us can go….."

"No! That's too dangerous!" Sophie almost screamed at her.

"Then you tell me a way, princess!" She said, giving her an angry look.

"Then who will go? I don't think anyone is willing to do this…." Metz said.

"Relax guys. It was my idea. So, I'll go."

"Don't be stupid!" Sophie screamed at her again.

"Sophie, there's no other way!" she screamed at her so hard that everyone of kept mum for a while.

"Are you sure with this?" Metz finally said, breaking the silence.

"There's no other way."

Metz turned to Sophie again and said, "It would be very dangerous for Zhalia to go directly through the machine's entrance. She may not be able to find the way out and may get trapped inside, just like Dante. Can you do anything to reduce this risk?"

Sophie thought for a moment, then picked up her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Santiago! Will you please get me that pink crystal pendent……….yes, yes, the one in that black velvet box……….get it soon to the HQ……..it's an emergency…………"

She ended the call and told us to wait for sometime. Within a minute, Santiago was standing near the door of the chamber, with a beautiful black box, which he handed over to Sophie. He bowed and went away.

"This is a magical crystal that belonged to my ancestors." Saying this, she tied the pendent, around Zhalia's neck.

"This pendent will help you to time travel. Since its range is quite small, it can transport you to only those histories which had taken place recently. But when it comes to transport back, it has unlimited range. So now, you can use the normal entrance of the machine. Just think about Dante when you're doing so. You'll be transported to an area near to him; hence you'll have to do a bit of searching. Once you're done, think about this place and you'll be back. The chain is long enough to fit in both yours and Dante's neck, so don't forget to put it around him too. And, you'll have to do all this in just two hours, or else the pendent will become ineffective and you'll be trapped there forever!"

As she finished her explanation, Zhalia turned toward the machine's entrance. Slowly she took a step towards it.

"Remember, Zhalia! Only TWO HOURS!" Sophie said as Zhalia nodded towards her.

And the next moment, Zhalia was gone.


	11. Revealing Secrets

REVEALING SECRETS

**Dante**

**The Battle Field**

**1200 B.C.**

**Troy**

Fighting for Troy now seemed to be a hobby for me. We almost fought on daily basis. I had got so many scars on my body that I was afraid to go back to Zhalia in such a condition. I was turning into a 'Scarman'!

"Soldiers, ready!" a call came. I got so used to it now.

"Archers, ready!"

"ATTACK!!!"

As usual, I was standing in the first row. There was no need for the back row to push me now. I just got used to all this. But, I was losing my control day by day. I was tempted to use magic, but always withdrew that thought. I had to keep it as a secret as long as I stayed here. I just got so bored of all this!

"You are so dead now!" a Greek soldier screamed and pounced at me.

"Oh no! Not again!" I murmured as he attacked me. I had never killed a person literally since I was a Seeker and I used magic to fight. Blood shedding was not something of my type. Still I had no choice. If I didn't take this man's blood, the Trojan soldiers would take Cherit's blood. I was doing all this just to keep him safe. I just had no idea where he was, and my holotome was in Zander's house, where I wasn't allowed to go until the war was over.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I completely ignored the Greek attacking me.

"Aaahhh!!!" I growled in pain. I looked down and what I saw horrified me.

The blood was gushing out from my stomach. That man had passed his sword through it. He stood there in front of me, smiling as he drew his sword out of my stomach. I fell down with a thud. My vision started to blur. Everything around me started to become dark. I was losing consciousness. I was dying.

That's it. I couldn't take it anymore. It wasn't supposed to end like that. I didn't care about anything now. This place was horrible and I just had to get out of here, alive, along with Cherit. If I had to use magic, I would.

"EVERFIGHT!" saying this, my wound started to heal. I enjoyed the expression on the Greek soldier standing in front of me. He stood there, with his mouth wide open as he saw my wound disappearing.

"Now let's show you Greeks some real power!" saying this, I extended both my hands towards the approaching army of the Greeks.

"DOUBLE SPELL, TOUCHRAM!!!!"

Two green colored bolts escaped through my hands and went blazing towards the Greek side. In not more than a minute, their side decreased to half. Other Greeks who were in Trojan territories retrieved back. Still, that fire of anger inside me didn't die. Luckily, I had one titan with me. That was all I wanted.

"Emerge Caliban!!!"

My signature titan emerged from my amulet and stood in front of the opposing force.

"Clean up the mess!" I ordered him. Soon, few Greeks were left, who were so scared that they didn't even turn back at us and ran away from the battle field. I was so pissed off by the event that had taken place that I just went inside the city, Caliban closely following me. I felt everybody's eyes on me. I even turned towards the hill and saw Achilles, looking directly at me, his mouth wide open. Maybe, he was thinking that I was stronger than him and now it would be impossible to defeat the Trojans and take Helen back home. Then another thought struck me. Was Achilles going to be the part of the war now that the conditions had turned against them? That would create a blunder, because killing Achilles would be impossible as he would remain unharmed. There was only one way to kill him, shooting on his heel, which again was a difficult task. Personally, I had no intentions of killing anyone. I had just lost my patience completely. I didn't want to fight against him.

I could see that I was the hot topic for people to gossip about that night. Every where I went, people would stare at me, like I was some maniac. I was allowed to leave the barracks after my 'breathtaking' attacks. I opened the door of Zander's cottage and found him sitting on a rickety chair, staring hard at me. I was surprised to find Cherit in his arm, his dark, liquid eyes widening with happiness as he saw me, but didn't say anything.

"How did you get Cheri……I mean Cherro?" I asked Zander.

"The soldiers came and told to deliver it to you." He said in an emotionless voice.

Cherit flew towards me and settled himself on my shoulder, his favorite place to rest.

"Did they hurt you, Cherit?" I whispered to him as low as possible. He shook his head and smiled at me. Zander suddenly got up and walked up to me. His face was so expressionless that it looked as if a dead body was walking towards me.

"I know what you did on the battle field."

"Zan…..Zander…..I can explain…….." I looked at Cherit helplessly.

"I know….."

Suddenly he fell to my feet, as if he was worshipping me.

"I knew you would come to rescue us from this terrible fate. I knew you were the one from the day I saw you. I am honored that you chose to stay with me, dear Apollo!"

Apollo? What do they think I am?

"They think you are their god, Apollo…" Cherit whispered to me, answering my doubts.

"What………?" I gasped.

"We all saw how you defeated the Greeks. We don't know how to thank you!" Zander continued to say.

"I….I…just want to rest." I said, finally coming up with something.

He made the bed and told me to rest on it, while he himself slept in the kitchen. Somewhere within, I was feeling bad. I was cheating these people. But, if this was keeping me and Cherit safe, then maybe I should continue with it.

As soon as I was about to sleep, I heard a soft knock on the door. Praying that these weren't the common Trojans coming to worship me at this point of time, I opened the door as slowly as possible, hoping not to wake up Zander.

I was shocked to see this woman, wearing a pair of skinny jean, an olive green sweat shirt which reached her waist, revealing the pink top underneath it and her knee length green boots.

What was she doing here???

And why did she bring Achilles with her??


	12. The Search Ends

THE SEARCH ENDS

**Zhalia**

I felt as if somebody was trying to rip my body apart. There was an immense pain in my head as I was being transported to the other world. I was captured in a light blue wave, which glittered all around me. Then, I saw a pink hole, which I supposed was the end point. Before I could realize what was happening, I entered the hole and fell on something very hard. For a moment I lost my consciousness.

I found everything so ancient around me when I woke up. I soon realized that I was lying on a beach. I looked towards my left, and saw that there were thousands of ships. They were so huge, but beautiful. The water of the sea was clear and sparkling blue. I got up to take a look around me. At some distance, maybe a kilometer away, I saw some tents. Upon using farsight, I saw that there were guards around it. They wore a knee length black tunic, and were completely armed with spears and shields.

Suddenly, I saw some men running towards the direction of those tents, or rather a camp. They were screaming so hard that all the people came out of their tents and ran towards them. I could see some were badly injured and the blood was just sprouting out of their bodies. I couldn't make out what they were screaming, except one word, Apollo. They kept screaming 'Apollo here! Apollo here!' while they ran towards the camp. I could even make out that horrified looks on their faces. I felt bad when I saw them in that condition. I even saw Santiago there, helping one of the men.

Wait a minute, what was Santiago doing here?

Last time I saw him getting Sophie the pink pendent which I was wearing.

I know he was really fast at whatever he did, but he can't be that fast so that he could follow me right till here!

There was something seriously wrong.

I opened my disguise kit and took out a blond wig and a brown colored full length tunic with a hood attached to it. It was the same one I'd worn for my mission in Egypt, when I was working as a spy for the Organization. Slowly, I approached the camp and soon I was standing right at its entrance. Seeing that it was hard to fool the guards, I took another route and reached a spot where there were no guards and sneaked in successfully. I had to find Santiago. He would be able to help me.

But, was he really the one I was thinking???

I quietly followed Santiago wherever he went hoping to meet him somewhere alone so that I could take him back to our original place, along with Dante. I checked my watch and found that I had one hour fifty minutes left. I had to do quickly whatever I could.

Suddenly I saw two men fighting each other. One of them was Santiago and I couldn't recognize the other. They were shouting at each other as if they were drunk. Soon they started attacking each other with swords. Santiago got hurt badly in his arm and groaned in pain. I wanted to help him, but I couldn't. I didn't know what to do. Then, I heard them screaming at each other once again.

"I will not help at any cost! You should have thought twice before letting Agamemnon take away Briseis from me, Menelaus!"

"We have no time to solve our personal problems. We need your men to fight!"

"I said I am not! And, anyways, they have got Apollo on their side! There's no way we can win this war!"

"But, I am not going back without Helen!"

"They stay here and die!" he said his last words before he entered a tent nearby. Maybe, it belonged to him.

I heard the Menelaus guy scream back at him, "You will pay for this, Achilles!"

Achilles………I'd heard this name somewhere, but couldn't remember. I really had no clue what to do next. I decided to wait till everybody retired for the night. I went out of the camp, meanwhile searching for Dante's location.

Soon, it became dark and I went back to the camp and sneaked in again. I fortunately found it completely deserted, and quickly made my way towards Santiago's tent. There was one question bothering me a lot. Why did that Menelaus guy called him Achilles?

Slowly, I entered his tent, but found it empty. I looked around and saw that there were many papers lying on a small wooden table. The tent itself was stinking very badly. I went towards the table to examine the papers. Those were nothing but some war plans and some letters. Suddenly, I felt a cold metal on my nape.

"Having fun sneaking in here?" a deep voice said. I turned to see Santiago was standing behind, with a sword in his hand. He was wearing the same clothes as the guards; a black knee length tunic.

"Oh, so now the Trojans are sending women to spy on us! Interesting…….." he continued.

"Santiago, it's me!"

"Sorry girl, I don't like traps!" He said, in a throaty voice.

"No, no….it's me!" saying this, I removed my hood and then my wig. His mouth was wide open when he saw me.

"HELEN! What are you doing here?" he almost screamed at me.

"Who is Helen?" I asked him.

"You, who else?"

"I'm not Helen! I'm Zhalia! Remember me, Zhalia Moon?"

"What are you talking about? You are Helen!"

I didn't know what he was trying to say, but I decided to settle with Helen, if he really wanted to call me by that name. Maybe, he was doing this to keep my identity secret.

"You've got hurt badly, Santiago……"

"Who is Santiago?"

"You!"

"I'm Achilles. How can you forget?"

Maybe, even he was keeping his identity secret. He was on a secret mission, most probably.

"Alright, Achilles, you've got hurt badly."

"So?"

"Why don't you do anything about it?"

"It will heal soon. But, why are you here?"

"I wanted to meet you."

"You should go away from here. It's dangerous. And, besides, I am not in a mood to talk to anyone, especially after Apollo destroyed our side almost completely."

"Apollo?" I asked him.

"Yes, Apollo! Could you believe the fact! Gods are really angry with us………"

"What did he do?"

"Ask me what he didn't do! I had been observing him for quite a long time. He was a good fighter, though I don't know where he learnt it from."

"Really? How did he fight?"

He demonstrated it in front of me. Those moves looked like Dante's, but why would Dante take part in some stupid war? But still, I had some doubts.

"Can you make a sketch of what he looked like?"

He stared at me for a while, but then took a pen (rather a quill and a bottle of ink) and a paper and sat beside me.

"I would be hard because I never had a close look at him, but I will try. I think you know him." He said, with a smirk.

He started to sketch out while I paced around the entire tent. I checked my watch again and I was left with one hour fifteen minutes. I had to find Dante as soon as possible.

"Here it is." He said, handing me the sketch, It was a man with a goatee and fringes which covered one of his eye. It my Dante!

"Do you know where this person lives?" I asked him, with a hint of excitement in my tone.

"He must be staying behind those huge walls of Troy. You should be knowing all this!"

I removed my full length tunic, revealing my working outfit to him, which I normally wore during the missions.

"Why are you wearing such weird clothes?" he asked me.

"Don't ask me any questions now." Saying this, I took his hand and went out of the camp.

He showed me the way back to the wall. I easily passed through the guards, much to my astonishment. They didn't recognize Santiago as he insisted on wearing my tunic and covered his face with the hood. Soon I was in the city, with people staring at me. Probably, this was due to my clothes. They all bowed at me wherever I went. I showed them Dante's sketch and they told me the way to him.

Soon I was standing in front of a poorly built cottage. I was afraid of knocking the door, thinking that what his reaction would be. I was so tensed that my hands started to shake. Finally, I knocked, softly. After waiting for two minutes, the door opened and I saw Dante, looking sleepy, but shocked when he saw me. He was equally shocked when he saw Santiago with me.

"Zhalia! Is that you?" he asked me.

"Who else do you think?"

He quickly pulled me inside, along with Santiago.

"How and why did you come here?" He asked me, as he covered me with his trench coat.

"Why do I feel that you're not happy to see me?"

His tensed eyes softened and he kneeled down near me, cupped my face and kissed me passionately. I never wanted this to end, but it did.

"It's not that I'm not happy to see you. I'm just not happy to see him with you!" he said, pointing towards Santiago, who looked as if a thunderbolt had stuck him hard.

"You just kissed her……." Santiago said.

Dante stood up with a smirk on his face and said, "Why shouldn't I? After all, she's my wife!"

Santiago began to shake uncontrollably. His face turned white.

"When did you marry Helen?" he said. I still didn't understand why he was calling me Helen.

At this, Dante began to laugh, softly. He made Santiago and me sit side by side, then kneeling in front of me again, his eyes piercing deep into mine. Then he began to tell how I resembled the famous Helen of Troy and Santiago resembled Achilles. He told me all about his adventures and other resemblances. I was completely dumbstruck at what I heard all this. He told me that Lok in this age was Paris and Sophie was Oenone the nymph, who was also a healer. Then, suddenly, I remembered something. I requested Dante to take San…….Achilles to Oenone so that she could heal his wounds. At first, he hesitated, but then agreed.

"But before that, I have an important task to do." Dante said.

We were soon on our way to the forest of Ida with Achilles and Paris. Dante got him from his palace, saying that his presence was needed. He also insisted me to disguise myself so that I didn't scare Paris. We soon reached the forest, and Dante led us to a beautiful place where there were small waterfalls and mist had gathered the entire area. It was like a dreamland. He called Oenone's name and no sooner, we found a nymph, who looked like Sophie, approaching us. She looked happy when she saw Dante, but that smiled was replaced by a frown when she saw Paris. Dante motioned him to go ahead. Oenone and Paris disappeared into a cave but came back after some time, both of them smiling as they came to us. Paris came to Dante and said, "We have worked it out! Thank you so much, dear Apollo. You have made everyone happy!"

I was really surprised by what I saw when my attention went to my watch. Hell! We had only fifteen minutes left to go back home. I told Dante about this and he called Oenone, requesting her to take care of Achilles' wound as he had an important work to do. We quickly went back to the cottage, where quickly picked up his belongings and sleeping Cherit. He sat down on a rickety chair and wrote three letters. He left the first letter for Zander, the owner of the cottage, second for Helen of fair hands, and third was delivered to Menelaus guy.

"So, are you ready now?" I said, looking back at my watch. We had only two minutes left.

"I think so." He said, holding Cherit in his arms.

I pulled him close to me and put the chain around his neck. I held the pink pendent in my hand and wrapped my fingers around it. I started to think hard about Metz's chamber.

Metz's chamber……..

Metz's chamber……..

Metz's chamber…….

.

And we were gone.


	13. The Reunion

THE REUNION

**Zhalia**

**7:00 pm**

**Huntik Foundation Headquarters**

**Venice, Italy.**

"WE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!!!!"

Sophie said and ran in our direction as soon as we reached backed to the future. I was so shocked when she said that. My heart melted that very moment. It was true that she always kept fighting with me, but I knew that somewhere in her heart she had a soft corner for me.

However, she passed me and hugged Dante.

Dammit! I should've known better! This girl was never going to change.

"I knew you would do it!" Lok said and hugged me. At least, he cared for me!

"So, how did you ever got into that time machine? I hope that sign in front of it was clear enough." Metz said from behind, looking at Dante.

"Well, I had to stop someone from touching it…" he said, looking towards Cherit.

"Where did you end up?" Lok asked him, hi eyes clearly showing how eager he was.

Dante told them everything; Troy, his adventures, everything. He told Lok how he resembled Prince Paris, at which he blushed really hard. We all laughed at him when he did that; he looked so girly!

"Well, I would have made a better Helen than Zhalia………." I heard Sophie murmur to herself when Dante told her about me resembling Helen of Troy while she resembled Oenone the nymph. I could see jealousy in her eyes, which made me giggle. Somehow, I controlled it.

"So, now that Dante is back with us, LET'S PARTY!!!" Lok screamed with excitement.

Almost all of us were in favor of that, except me. I wanted to be with Dante so much after a long separation, but Lok shattered everything with his stupid idea of a party. I tried to smile, but I knew I would eventually fail. I didn't get to spend any time with him ever since we got married, which was odd because you marry a person to spend time with him. The situation was so bad that I felt we used to be together more often when we were not married. My eyes welled up again, both due to sadness and tiredness.

"Uh, we can have a party some other day. Right now, I have an important job to finish." Dante said as he got up and walked out. Great, now I didn't even have a chance to be with him at the party! He works so much! I doubt he'll ever be able to satisfy my needs.

I couldn't take all this anymore and went back home as soon as possible. It was night time. I was exhausted, both mentally and physically. But, above all, I was sad. I wanted him so much, but I never was so lucky. I was so tired now that thinking about all this made my headache. I quickly took a relieving hot shower, changed into an ice blue strapless nightdress, which reached my mid-thigh. I looked quite seductive, but was too tired to seduce. I slipped into the silky sheets of our soft bed and closed my eyes.

"You smell so good tonight…"

I opened one of my eyes and saw Dante, his face not more than two inches away from me. He leaned down and kissed my neck softly.

"I missed you so much!" he whispered in my ears. I couldn't help chuckling. His voice was so soothing.

"I thought you had a job to do." I said in a low tone.

"What do you think I'm doing?"

Gosh! He cancelled the party just to be with me!

"I wanted to be with you, Zhalia. I was craving for you so much. I know how much I disappointed you when we had to stop that night. I didn't even come back when I promised to do so. I'm so sorry……"

"It's not your fault, Dante. We are Seekers and we can hardly get any time to be together. I'm sure we'll work it out. I'm………….."

Before I could say anything else, I felt his velvet lips on mine. He kissed me softly as I unbuttoned his shirt. My hands grazed his hard, bare chest as he started licking my lower lip, asking for permission to enter my mouth. I slowly parted my lips and his tongue roamed inside my mouth. The kiss turned fierce and he started removing my dress. He traced his warm fingers on my bare body, which somehow tickled me. A soft moan escaped from my throat.

Everything was going on well when suddenly Dante's cell phone rang. He sighed heavily and picked it up

"Oh, hi……….right now…….I'm not feeling well……….Wednesday, fine………..goodnight!" He kept the phone down.

"Who was it?" I asked him.

"Metz. He had called me for a meeting. I refused."

"You refused him?!" I was shocked to hear that.

"Yeah. I said I wasn't well. He called me on Wednesday."

"Why did you lie to him?"

"I wanted to be with you." He said, giving me a smile.

I couldn't help but smile back at him.

"Now where were we?" Saying this, he started kissing me back.

He gave me what I'd been waiting for so long; my wedding night.

**10:00 am**

**Dante Vale's house**

**Venice, Italy.**

I woke up late, as usual. I could feel Dante's breath on my neck as his head was placed on my chest. I never expected him to be here as he was an early riser. Maybe, he was as tired as me.

"How was I?" he suddenly whispered to me.

"You were great!" I giggled and said.

I was embarrassed when my stomach growled loudly. He couldn't help but laugh.

"I wonder how you managed to eat when I wasn't here!" he said, getting up from the bed and putting a robe to cover his beautiful body.

"I didn't……"

"You didn't?"

"I mean I hardly……….I was so worried about you…..I just couldn't…….."

His eyes softened and he climbed back on the bed to give me a kiss.

"I'll give you a grand feast now. Thank you for saving me." He said and gave me a quick kiss before leaving.

I dressed up and went down to have my breakfast when I heard Sophie's voice in the living room. Even Lok had accompanied. Gosh! Why don't these kids understand anything! They just want to be around Dante all the time!

"I can't understand a thing, Dante!" she said, in a tensed tone.

"I'm sure you're getting strokes!" Lok said and laughed loudly.

"I'm serious, Dante. Just look at these books!" she said, completely ignoring Lok's comment.

Dante took one of the books that Sophie had. He looked shocked as his face turned as white as the robe he was wearing. He checked other books lying on the table he looked stunned. I was eager to know what was happening there.

"I don't know what's happening! I've read the tragic tale of Troy several times, but this is the first time I'm reading this version! The tale until Helen was stolen is same. The change comes after that!" Sophie picked up a book and started to read an excerpt "It says that 'While staying in Troy, Helen befriended a mysterious man, and falls in love with him'. But, she loved Paris!" She flipped the pages and said, "It also says that the mysterious man was actually Apollo, a god which the Trojans believed in. He had come to save them from the attacks of the Greeks! And, what's more! It also says that Apollo was responsible for restoring Paris and Oenone's relationship. He wrote a letter to Helen and her husband Menelaus to stay together in peace! I just don't understand. There was no famous wooden horse, no end of Troy, nothing! And, check out the last sentence of the book, 'They all lived happily ever after!' I really don't understand anything!" She looked at Dante for explanation.

"Well…..I'll look into this matter…..you both better run. You're getting late for the school!" he said hesitantly and I saw both of them walking out. I turned towards Dante, who went to the kitchen with a tensed look on his face.

"What were they talking about?" I asked him as I entered the kitchen.

"A big mistake which I've committed." He said in a serious tone.

"What mistake?" I asked him.

He came towards the kitchen island and sat beside me.

"Zhalia….I've changed the entire history!"

I was shocked by what I heard. Then I remembered Sophie talking about how Apollo saved Troy. And, that Apollo was none other than Dante.

"I guess I'll have to fix it." He said.

"What are you thinking?"

"I guess………..I'll have to go back……"

"NO!" I screamed.

"There's no other way!"

"No! No, you can't! It's too dangerous!"

"I know……."

"We'll find some other way!"

"What other way?"

"I don't know, but we'll."

"Zhalia, try to understand!"

"Dante, I've never interfered in your decisions. But, I can't help now. You are going out of the limit. We'll talk to Metz about this. Please listen to me……..for once!"

There was a long, awkward silence before he finally said, "I'll talk about this with Metz during our meeting. Don't worry; I'm not going anywhere now. I'll be with you." He said and kissed me passionately.


	14. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

**Dante**

**A year later……**

**4:30 pm**

**Huntik Foundation Hospital**

**Venice, Italy.**

"Relax, Dante! Take a seat and stop pacing around like that!" Sophie said to me.

"I don't know……….is Zhalia okay?" I asked her.

"Do you want me to go in and check?" Scarlet offered.

"That would be great……."

She went inside a room nearby, where Zhalia was admitted. I was extremely worried. Zhalia was in so much of pain and I couldn't even be there to be with her.

Ever since I'd been away from her for a long time, I never wanted to leave her alone. Everything was back to normal now. Metz found a solution and restored the history back which was changed by my foolish acts. I still don't know how he did it; he refused to tell me. Somewhere, I was still guilty about what I'd done. It took me almost a year to accept that all this wasn't my fault completely. The situations were so pathetic that I'd no other way but to act the way I did.

"Why don't you go out and get some fresh air! You have been like this for more than an hour!" Lok said.

"I'm fine."

"At least sit down for a while!" Sophie said, offering me a seat.

I sighed and sat down. I just wished all this to get over soon. It was hard to see Zhalia in that condition; in pain, screaming for me. I wanted to be with her so much, but the doctor didn't allow anyone to go near her. She wanted me to be there for her………..but I couldn't

"Mr. Vale?" the doctor finally came out. She looked a bit tensed.

I got up from my seat and my heart was beating so fast that I felt it was trying to come out of my chest. I took a deep breathe to control myself.

"Congratulations! It's a girl!"

I felt all my tensed muscles suddenly coming into a relaxed position. Finally, this was all over.

"Is Zhalia okay?"

"She just can't stop looking at the baby!" the doctor said, with a smirk on her lips.

"Mr. Vale, your wife….." a nurse called me.

"I'll be right there!"

I went inside the room, with Lok and Sophie closely following me. I saw Zhalia smiling at me as I entered. My eyes widened with joy when I saw her holding my beautiful daughter. She had my auburn eyes and Zhalia's raven hair. Her lips were blood red and her skin as white as snow; my little snow white! I could trace the tears on Zhalia's cheeks. I'd never seen her crying before, but Lok said that she cried a lot when I was away for a while. I couldn't believe what he told me. I still remembered how her face went red when she confessed all this crying stuff. It was hard to imagine her crying.

"Awww…She's so cute!" Sophie said, admiring the baby.

"I bet our baby will be a blond, just like me!" Lok said, looking at Sophie.

"And, who said that we'll be having a baby?"

"Of course we'll, but after we marry!"

"And, who said that I'm going to marry you?"

"You mean you'll not?"

"I didn't mean that!"

"That means you will!"

"We can talk about this after we grow up a bit more."

I ignored their petty quarrel and sat beside Zhalia. I softly caressed her shoulder as our daughter cooed.

"She's beautiful! I bet she'll look like me when she grows up!" I said, looking towards the baby.

"I don't think so. She'll never have a beard! She'll definitely look like me." she giggled.

I rested my head on her shoulder as the baby started playing with my fingers. Zhalia was right; she'll look like her when she grows up. I place a soft kiss on Zhalia's neck and she chuckled. I couldn't take my eyes of her. She looked like an angel when she closed her eyes and finally fell asleep.

"So, have you thought a name for her?" Zhalia asked me.

"Yeah, I think so."

"I hope it's not 'Zhalia Junior'….." she said, at which I giggled.

She looked so much like Zhalia. I had a perfect name for her.

"So, what did you name her?" she asked me eagerly.

I gave her a big smile and said

"Helen."

**THE END.**


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